It truly is better to give than to receive... :)

The Festa Major De Gracia

     Every year between August and September, each neighborhood in the city of Barcelona celebrates it's existence with music, fair-like food and other things.  The first of these festivals is the Festa Major De Gracia.  In the neighborhood of Gracia, streets compete by decorating their portion of the streets with recyclables or other things.  The winner gets the sole recognition of winning the major event.  There is also a lot of bands playing, people dancing, people watching movies.  That being said, I went with my friend Federico to discover what all the fuss was about.  Here are the pictures to prove it

Me standing in the underwater-designed street (yes Mike, I have a murse...lol).

This one is the one that got first place in two categories.  It was so impressive, I couldn't get all of it in one shot.

This is me and my friend Federico.  We had a good time of conversation and sharing about things with an awkward pause every now and then.

So as you can see the festival was quite fun.  More pictures coming soon.

JKW

So it occurred to me that I have not put up any pictures of my flat on my blog (props to the parental units for reminding me). Without further adieu, here's the pictures...

This is my super cool living room...This is where my musical creations all happen.

This is my stylish kitchen. A lot of culinary experiments have been performed already in this area of the apartment.

This is my area of deep reflection and thought...also known as my bathroom.

This is my bedroom with complementary fan as it gets really hot here considering I have no AC.

Pictures of me in Barcelona coming soon....

As much as I love change...sometimes it freaks me out.

My friend Mateo tagged me for one of these chain blog type of things (thanks Matt...sarcastically speaking). Therefore I must do this post.

Rules:

1. You must post these rules before giving the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged must write their own blog (about their 8 things) and

post these rules. (If you are a non-blogger you can email them. Just don’t be

annoying.)

4. At the end of the blog I must tag eight people and give their names.

5. Remember to leave a comment letting them know that they’ve been tagged

and to ready your blog.

And now....

8 RANDOM FACTS ABOUT ME:

1. I have all the clothes in my closet color coordinated.

2. When I walk in between cement blocks, I count the steps I take in each cement block.

3. I have been addicted to Desperate Housewives recently (thanks Eva...lol).

4. I dance sometimes to music playing loud in my flat.

5. I have all my coins neatly organized.

6. My childhood dream growing up was to be either an astronaut, a garbage man, or a construction guy (what can I say...I loved heavy machinery).

7. I had a huge fear of cockroaches growing up. Partly because I had one fly at my face and another crawl up my leg when I was little.

8. When I'm doing a #2 in the bathroom, I always use four sheets of toilet paper for every swipe.

Tag, your it: Peyton, Daniel, Jimmy, Hope, Stefanie, Heather Sumner, Zach, Matt Baker

Summer Vacation Has Begun (for Spaniards)

In Spain, the whole month of August is vacation time for Spaniards...I know I wish I had a whole month of vacation a year.  Needless to say, most of my Spaniard friends will be gone on vacation during this time, leaving Barcelona absolutely dead around here.  My favorite chocolate shop here will be closed for the whole month which really stinks.  I really like going there and getting a cafe con leche with a mint dark chocolate bar.

Copeland + Cloudy Weather

I have discovered the perfect music to listen to during an overcast or rainy weather.  The perfect music to listen to is the band Copeland.  Every time I listen to them when it is overcast, the wonderful melodies of guitar combined with the vocals of Aaron just make this band the ultimate to listen to.  So if you ever have an overcast or rainy weather, be sure to listen to Copeland during that time.  Copeland is a great band regardless, but they're meant to listen to during those rainy days.

Changes (and I don't mean just clothes either)

There's already so many changes in myself and in those from home I keep in contact with.  I can tell the shifts in the way I think and do things has changed considerably and I have to say, I like where God is taking me with this.  I'm learning to truly care for those around me, to care for the planet, as well as truly become more real with people than ever.  

Haley reminded me of the story of the Dragon in C.S. Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  In this story, the Dragon was a human before this.  The Lion tells the dragon that he must tear the dragon skin off.  The dragon tries this and then proceeds to look in the water to see if he's changed back into human form, only to discover he's the same.  The Lion ultimately tells the Dragon that only him tearing it away can change it.  After tearing away at the dragon's skin, the dragon is in pain for a while.  He looks down and notices that he's back to human form.  This story reminded me that change can and will be painful at times, but that the only meaningful change can be brought by Christ and Christ alone.

That's it for now you guys.  Take care and God bless.